Dakar …Creating life memories..:)

Author: yayemarie2226

  • Tea for the soul..

    “J’avance et j’avance pas à pas....”comme dirait la jeune chanteuse Frenchie Ivoirienne Denden😄

    Anywhoo a dear soul Sister of mine who was visiting our hometown gifted me with some beautiful tea from Kenya .Every time I enjoy a cup of it I smile thinking of her, thinking of making duahs for her.. It’s interesting how as we get older, when we’ve “lived” a little bit..gone through major and minor trials, thoughtful gifts like this means a lot..

    It makes me think of how lucky we are to still be here, it makes me grateful for those friendship moments when we can talk, be a witness to our growth, talk about our children and be happy for each other. So yeah .. every time I use a tea bag I think of her, of how beautiful is her focus in life, how proud of her accomplishments I am, of the woman she is and keeps on becoming..

    Let’s not take for granted friends gestures, it’s their way of acknowledging their care for us…:)

    Merci Amy🌸🥰

    Voilà another random billet of May’ 25…

    ’Till next time InshAllah

    Yaye:)

  • Avec moi…

      « Avec moi il n’y a pas de compétition.. » comme dirait le chanteur Ya Lévis…

    I went for a late night run this evening and as I was running my mind went to all the female runners that have died while doing the same exact thing as I was doing..working out.

    I thought of nursing student Laken Riley who was abused and killed last year .. I remember her trial, the pain of her mother and loved ones .. her broken dreams .. I imagined her passion for the outdoors , for running.. for that feeling of freedom that I know and feel so well when I go work out..

    It reminded me not to take for granted those nights when I am able to come home safe , it could be me , it could be you. Thinking a lot about their families the pain they must have felt, prayers up 🤲🏾🕊️

    Stay safe out there..

    random billet du mois de mai ´25:)

    Yaye

  • Menu vibes…

    So we are in it… the first week of school has officially started.. and so has began la saga des différentes envies culinaires.

    As a little girl , i just ate what I was given for lunch ( typical African upbringing « don’t complain , eat un peu de tout »)😄which actually is not bad teaching..

    Cartoons, tv programs and teachers at school strongly encourage kids nowadays to eat healthy; vegies, fruits ect… Ce qui est très bien d’ailleurs 👏🏾…

    My little mademoiselle asks me to pack her serving of vegies and healthy meals.., it’s actually fun composing her little lunchbox..

    She’s excited to open it and share it with her friends at school..I guess we are creating memories:)

    Until next time, take good care of yourselves:)

    Yaye

  • Étiquettes tu colleras:)

    Ca y’est c’est the big rentrée 😄🥳, comme d’habitude les parents sont super contents, enfin la fin du boucan in za casa..

    One of my daughter’s fav’ tradition is “colling” les etiquettes sur ses effets la veille.. donc moi j’écris son nom et elle ..elle colle:) She always looks forward to that scolaire tradition of ours… and I do too😊

    C’est le big CM2 InshAllah can’t believe we are already here.. bon on va relativiser already here 😅… il y’a encore du chemin .. mais Alhamdoulilah c’est déjà pas mal ce que l’on a parcouru déjà..

    i asked her what 3 words she wants to focus on this year and among the 3 she chose patiente.. and I said yes , last year she had a bit of a hard time navigating little girls friendships😅… the “ you are my best friend “.. “no she stole her from me “ ect ect … we had to learn to try to navigate those situations..so we’ll see this year..

    Anywhoo très belle rentrée à tous & toutes!

    Until next time, take good care of yourselves:)

    Yaye

  • Waiting … but not in vain:)

    I don’t know if you feel like me .. but waiting at the doctor’s office for a consultation is “something😅”… not complaining but sometimes it feels like it can take for hours and hours …

    Alhamdoulilah for being able to even afford the cost to see a doctor…. we are all aware that the cost of health can be “spicy” . Living in Africa, I think of people who have to call their family members to come to their rescue in order to buy médecine, surgery ect ..

    I think of people who look at their loved ones desperately sans ressources malheureusement..

    Ce n’est vraiment pas facile, la vie n’est pas facile and will humble you très vite….

    I truly believe that if you can help your loved ones , there should be no hesitation.. May we be able to show up for others, Ameen:)

    Until next time, take good care of yourselves:)

    Yaye

  • Soft life this and that..

    Whenever you go to the doctor or you read anything wellness related.. the message is always the same : “try to live a stress free life.. “

    Now how do you go about that 😅..life in its nature is just stressful , the uncertainty, the various problems that can occur ;health,love, spiritual challenges, finance ..I can go on an on..

    The older I’m getting, life humbles me.You realize that you cannot solve everything and you are not even supposed to.. The advice I’ll give my daughter if she asks me one day ( even if she does not who I am kidding💁🏾‍♀️😄) would be simply do your best and do not be too hard on yourself.. it won’t solve anything but just add on the stress of it all..

    It’s ok if things take time to be fixed and some things will just never be fixed and that…. is ok as well.

    Those lil’ silly moments of joy are important, they make you feel human.

    So yeah that whole “soft life “ concept might seem idealistic but incorporating a lil bit of it when we can is not so bad..:)

    Until next time, take good care of yourselves:)

    Yaye

  • So About that Barbie Movie..

    Ah by the way , we now have several movie theaters options..ten years ago there were not that many but since then you have: http://www.pathe.sn among several other movie theaters.

    My daughter really wanted to go see the Barbie movie which kinda surprised me because her” playing with Barbie “phase didn’t last that long…

    But anywhoo we went, there were a group of young ladies all in their pink drip😄.. I guess all the way to Dakar, the pink dress code was respected. They reminded me of my College days, going to the movies with my girls.. it was always exciting and fun.

    Next to us, was a young Senegalese father on dad’s girls duties, he was buzy between the several bathroom breaks and the little girl chit chat.. come on Ken you got this 🦸🏾‍♂️😅..

    It was a cute movie with its obvious message of women empowerment. I’m glad they incorporated characters of different origins. It was particularly nice seeing Issa Rae ( 🇸🇳Represent)

    Definitely a cute outing with the lil’ one, glad we got to create a new memory together:)

    Until next time, take good care of yourselves:)

    Yaye

  • Oh how I missed this blog:)

    It’s funny I haven’t posted in this space in such a long time.. try une dizaine de years…can’t believe it went by this fast..

    But anywhoo the space is still available and I am still living in Dakar. You can easily imagine that Dakar living has evolved a lot, lots more cultural spaces, cultural events, concept stores , lounges ..restaurants ect ect..

    Frankly I still have a lot to explore but I wanna do it organically so if I see anything worth sharing I’ll do so.

    Thank you for some of your messages .. I didn’t know some of y’all still stop here.. IG & fast social media have taken over.. people have less patience with reading and sharing..

    I used to read so many cool blogs but many have disappeared ect..

    I Hope you guyz are well and thriving…life is not easy but what a beautiful journey..

    Donc voilà anytime I will feel like sharing my thoughts or places I’ve been to…I will be back

    Gros bisous and take good care of yourselves:)

    Yaye…

  • AFRIKIYO OU LES CHOEURS A L’UNISSION/GOREE SENEGAL!

    Goree a place where souls cried,laughed but sang during the suffering , the solitude,the fear…..songs of freedom,of redemption,songs of hope..Goree!

    That’s the place the panafrican choir Afrikiyo chose to host their first anual Afrikiyo festival,and it was lovelyyyyy..the weather was on point, the different choirs were on point, they sang in french in woloff,in serere,in english, zulu but most importantly they sang from the heart.

    Afrikiyo is a multicultural” happy” group of people of all ages,sizes,colors,ethinicities but they all share this love for God whether Muslim or Christian,whether Congolese or Cap Verdean..they know that the only constant thing in life is our love for the Allmighty.

    Watching them support each other,giggle and smile with each other one can def’ tell that they enjoy this special gift that is singing in harmony.

    Special mention to their president Evelyne Damas who’s doing an awesome job with this choir..makes me wanna join..but noo can’t sing lol:)

    Prior to the concert various choirs from Senegal were invited for a week to spend some time on the Island learn more abt what it takes to be in a choir,to lead a choir..it’s clear that they take it seriously:)

    Don’t get me wrong we were not facing people that aren’t living on earth,no!they dance and by dance I mean dance.We def’ got a treat when the men choir called “Choeur Pro” showed us that they could wine and dance just as much as the ladies..in moderation people lol..just enough and with class..:)

    My friends Rica, her baby,her sis in law Bigue and I had enjoyed ourselves as much as the rest of the mixed public.The “spirit” was def’ in the place, if you are in the Dakar area and you can catch them , do not hesitate doooo,you won’t regret it..for sure:)

    Here’s their webbie:

    http://afrikiyo.ning.com/

    You can also catch a video of the choir singing ,HERE

    Yaye

  • Review of the Restaurant L’Endroit,Dakar Senegal!

    Sorry I kinda dissapeared from this blog but I didn’t realize how many of you of you guys are still coming on this blog, since I already have http://www.yayemarieba.blogspot.com..sometimes I tend to blog mainly on that one..but since I see that u like this blog as well..I’ll try to keep blogging on both.

    So my friend Sophie and I decided to have lunch a L’Endroit this panafrican restaurant by la VDN. I had been there one night to catch Phillipe Monteiro and his band (Cap Verdean restaurant), and it’s a total different atmosphere. At nights it turns into a warm place, loud with groups of friends come together to eat , drink, laugh and dance even bare -foot lol..

    So back to my lunch with the beautiful Sophie, it was nice. We started of with appetizers, we both chose the pilli pilli shrimp dish (delicious ) I would recomend it , a bit spicy but really good.

    The restaurant serves both occidental and african food, I was in the mood for occidental but after tasting Sophie’s dish I would recomend the African food, there’s a bit of Ivoirian cusine to their menu..so if you are in the mood for that ..do go there:)

    Here’s their info:

    SICAP, VDN 4440 VDN Amitié
    Tél. : 33 824 6425

    Yaye